Funds are requested to support scientists attending the Gordon Research Conference on Mutagenesis to be held August 6-11, 2006, at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. The 2006 Mutagenesis Conference will focus on the mechanisms that generate mutagenic intermediates, on the diverse repair mechanisms that prevent the fixation of such intermediates as permanent mutations, and on the regulation of mutagenic processes. Selected speakers will be experts in the field of mutagenesis, and the meeting will serve as a forum for extensive interactions among all participants through open discussions within each morning/evening session as well as afternoon poster presentations. Attendance will be limited to 135 participants, and efforts will be made to encourage the attendance of minority groups, women, graduate students, and persons with disabilities. The conference will open on the first evening with two keynote addresses and this will be followed by eight sessions focusing on (i) the fidelity of DNA synthesis, (ii) mechanisms of microbial mutagenesis, (iii) mechanisms of lesion bypass (iv) effects of transcription on genetic stability, (v) mechanisms of programmed mutagenesis, (vi) mechanisms that generate chromosomal mutations, (vii) the regulation of mutagenic processes and (viii) the relationship between mutagenesis and human disease. The field of mutagenesis is critical to human health, with mutations initiating and facilitating the progression of a multitude of human diseases, especially cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, mutagenic processes are important in controlling host-parasite interactions, and the accumulation of oxidative damage has been implicated in aging. ? ? ? ?
